Weaving the circle of folly


                               The colorful concrete blocks dispersed throughout the
                               West Bank in the past two days are much more than a
                               temporary means to enforce an "encirclement" and
                               prevent vehicles moving outside the enclaves the
                               Palestinian Authority rules. They will prove ineffective for
                               this purpose.

                               By Meron Benvenisti
 

                               The colorful concrete blocks dispersed throughout the West Bank in
                               the past two days are much more than a temporary means to enforce
                               an "encirclement" and prevent vehicles moving outside the enclaves
                               the Palestinian Authority rules. They will prove ineffective for this
                               purpose.The blocks actually are symbols of an intention to
                               expropriate the physical space of the West Bank and its public
                               infrastructure, and to transfer them to the exclusive use of Jews.

                               As to encirclement, nobody can beat the talent of the besieged
                               residents for improvisation, nor top their knowledge of the area. The
                               chief of staff already has had to apologize for not halting all movement
                               of Palestinians in the West Bank.

                               The blocks were not meant to be simply a security measure -
                               whoever decided to deploy them knows they are of little practical
                               use. The "encirclement" is also more than collective punishment - it
                               declares that only vehicles bearing yellow [Israeli] license plates are
                               allowed to move.

                               Any other vehicle moving on West Bank roads is considered a
                               terrorist suspect and must be handled by the army, or by the settlers
                               who are angry over the use of "their" roads. A crucial element in the
                               security officials' decision ("with political establishment approval") was
                               the need to appease the anger of settlers after the serious incidents in
                               which three Israelis were killed on the roads of the West Bank. It is a
                               response to their demand to "let the IDF win" - or else they would
                               take action themselves.

                               Since the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada the lives of the settlers have
                               been completely disrupted. Their classic Zionist delusion - "a land
                               without a people for a people without a land" - was shattered. The
                               same Palestinian people threatened to turn their settlements into
                               besieged enclaves.

                               In the past, they tried to preserve their illusions with bypass roads
                               connecting Jewish settlements on which they could travel without
                               being aware of any Palestinian presence. The most pathetic monument
                               to the delusion, the "tunnel road," which was paved above and below
                               the Palestinians, is now closed most of the time.

                               With their absurdity now exposed they want "not to see" the
                               Palestinians, by having them caged in enclaves while the physical
                               space remains in Jewish hands. Then they can continue their normal
                               routine - "evening classes, visits to friends, entertainment, films, and so
                               on," as the newspapers quoted them.

                               Now it has become clear to everyone who saw the "settlement
                               project" as a mere collection of settlements that actually it is a
                               domination of the entire space.

                               The demographic facts on the ground were only the tip of an iceberg
                               of a complex system of roads, gas stations, infrastructure, army
                               camps, holy sites, nature reserves, appropriated state lands, security
                               requirements and the activity of the "civil administration." Together
                               these elements established permanent Israeli domination of the West
                               Bank.

                               Now that the Palestinians are rising up against the expropriation of
                               their space, the Israeli government is try to regain control by
                               "encirclement." This legitimizes a "normal routine" for 10 percent of
                               West Bank residents (Jews) at the expense of a living hell for the
                               other 90 percent (Palestinians).

                               As for those who object to the use of moral standards to judge
                               "security" decisions - let them note that the "normal routine" of 500
                               Hebron settlers requires putting 40,000 Palestinians under curfew.
                               This is considered reasonable - "dictated by necessity" - because the
                               Palestinians "brought it upon themselves," as they did the
                               "encirclement."

                               Among the slogans bandied about these days we hear "the ideology
                               of Greater Israel has disappeared" and "the present violence has no
                               military solution, only a political one."

                               The colored blocks expose the hypocrisy of both slogans. The
                               expropriation of the physical space they symbolize is proof that a
                               Greater Israel ideology has not vanished, even if it has become
                               "refined" by creating Indian reservations.

                               The "military" decision to enclave Palestinians proves that the
                               distinction between a military and a political solution is artificial.

                               A political solution means the Palestinians will give in to military
                               pressure and agree to the expropriation of the physical space - since it
                               already has been "proved" that any area given over to them becomes
                               a terrorist base.

                               Under these circumstances, there is neither a military nor a political
                               solution. The cement blocks will become tombstones on the route of
                               the march of folly